Purpose
To establish and delineate the procedure for suspended operations and inclement weather and to identify options for covering the time lost.
Suspended Operations Procedure
Authority
The President or designee will determine when health, property, or safety is jeopardized due to emergency conditions and whether to suspend the operation of all or any portion of the College with the exception of programming at Stafford Creek Correctional Center (SCCC). Staffing during the closure will be at the discretion of the President or designee.
For SCCC Faculty and Staff, the decision to suspend operations of the educational program at SCCC will be made by the Department of Corrections (DOC) and will be communicated to SCCC faculty and staff by the Dean of Education.
Notification
Announcements will be made on local radio stations, and the GHC Home Page to this effect. Employees should click on the “Seattle-Tacoma area” and then click on “current information” to see GHC’s posting. Employees should sign up to receive GHC Alerts (text, emails and/or voice) for emergency information, campus closures and delays. Employees may also call-in to their ?audix-voice messaging system to hear the latest announcements concerning the cancellation or delay of classes.
Time Loss Options
Classified Staff
Classified Staff should refer to the current WPEA Agreement regarding Suspended Operations.
Faculty (full and part-time) and Exempt Administrators
If the college president makes the decision to suspend operations, it will be assumed that the missed work will be made up during the course of the academic year.
SCCC Faculty (full time and part time)
Suspended operations is defined as DOC not allowing SCCC faculty or staff to access their workplace. Cancellation of programming does not constitute suspended operations. The Dean will determine suspended operations in consultation with DOC. For full-time faculty, class time lost due to suspended operations must either be accounted for by having faculty assigned educational activities to be completed at home, or having faculty make up the lost instructional time before the end of the quarter or the contract year. Part time faculty will be required to make up lost instructional time by the end of the quarter. The exception will be for late start or suspended operations due to a weather related event (refer to the Inclement Weather Procedure).
Inclement Weather Procedure
Classified Staff
The announcement that classes have been canceled or delayed does not excuse classified staff from reporting to work. Efforts will be made to make the college roadways and parking lots accessible to all employees. All classified staff are expected to report for work at their regularly scheduled hours, even though classes will not meet or are delayed in starting. The decision to travel from home to the college rests with the employee.
Classified Staff should refer to the current WPEA Agreement regarding Inclement Weather.
Faculty, Exempt Administrators and Classified Managers Exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
If the college president makes the decision to cancel or delay classes due to inclement weather, it will be assumed that the missed work will be made up during the course of the academic year. For part-time faculty, it will be assumed that the lost time will be made up during the course of the academic quarter.
SCCC Faculty (fulltime and part time): If faculty cannot come to work due to inclement weather or have to leave the GHC SCCC campus early because of inclement weather, they will have 2 days on the state per contract year to account for this missed work time. Any lost work time due to inclement weather beyond 2 days per contract year must be accounted for by a process approved by the Dean of Education. Part-time faculty will be required to make up lost instructional time by the end of the quarter.
All Employees
In the event that inclement weather causes cancellation of classes during the work day, ALL employees may leave work to avoid conditions created by the weather or they may decide to remain to finish their normal work schedules. It is the individual’s decision. If an individual chooses to leave work before his/her normal schedule is complete, the options for accounting for the work time loss are those stated above.